Video: Are we doing enough to shame fat kids?

posted at 10:13 am on August 9, 2007 by Allahpundit

“Tough love,” I think they call it. As with all shaming exercises, it’s more effective coming from the opposite sex. Do an overweight teenage boy a favor the next time you meet one, ladies, and ask him what size bra he wears. Then watch the pounds melt away.

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Call me crazy, or maybe insensitive/callous, but most of the time, when you see an obese child I’ll bet its due to the parents not feeding him/her right and not saying No everytime the kids dips into the freezer for a generous helping of Ben & Jerry’s.

Leonidas is right about a lot of these kids. The parents give them fast food more than a few times a week, they don’t serve vegetables or fruits for desert and a lot of them sit on the couch all day playing video games and watching the tv. I was a pretty fat kid myself until I got to high school but shaming me made it worse (at least in my situation I’d want to eat more). I didn’t take up any sports after 4th grade and my folks weren’t on me to eat my veggies or if there were veggies a lot of the times they has so much butter and cheese they’d put Paula Deen to shame. I’m trying to do better with my kids.
I remember being a junior in high school and we were at a Mass in the gym and one of my friends turned to me and said, “Donald B. has bigger boobs than we do! It’s just not fair!”. I felt pretty bad for that kid because he was huge.

I always check out the foods that are in the shopping carts of other people. It is amazing to see someone so fat that they have to use the electric carts. Take a look at their purchases. Invariably you see. Sodas, ice cream, pop tarts and all manner of prepared foods i.e. hot pockets etc. Then notice people that are fit and the odds are, you’ll find they are buying Veggies, leans cuts of meat, Fish and fruit.

Being over weight is a symptom of : gluttony, sloth, laziness, moral weakness and ignorance.

As “gravitationly enhanced” person myself I laughed out loud at the video and the sight of the fat chick eating candy during the panel discussion was priceless. I gotta go now and get something to eat.

75% of adult Americans are overweight. Almost half are obese. So what? They’re not hurting anyone. Hospitals are filled with sick skinny/average people, not obese ones. I say leave them alone. They are the majority now.

We have bigger problems to worry about than fellow Americans’ waistlines.

On a serious note, I think a healthy dose of shame for the parents responsible for their children’s health is more appropriate.

Part of me says Amen! But I would point out that shame probably wouldn’t work with the vast majority of these parents. If you find a fat child, the chances are good that mom and dad are not struggling with bulemia or anorexia. In other words, it just isn’t junior that needs to make lifestyle changes.

It’s always fun to make fun of a FAT man, but God help you if you make fun of a BLACK man!
Why do people feel it’s their right to berate someone for not fitting THEIR ideal image? Isn’t that by definition, supremacist behavior??
It’s interesting to me, how no matter what the topic, humans will ALWAYS find a way to differentiate themselves from one another in order to occupy the moral high ground. And, subsequently, we have never, and will never, be able to get along.

ok, have congress form a committee to sturdy the problem, of course pay no attention to the fact kids aren’t given recess anymore(not enuf protective bubbles for all), the fact they spend the majority of their time playing video games with limited outside activity, pay no attention to the fact most foods these kids eat are loaded with sugar and hi in carbs and lst but not least don’t bother looking into the feeding of their children by their parents.
Congress study comes to the conclusion more people are fat, so accept it, tax it and spend the money a program that will build a bridge to no where.

Was it my imagination, or was the white dude on the far right the same sarcastic dude from the SONIC commercials?

benjamin on August 9, 2007 at 11:43 AM

Dude, good eye, I think you’re right! On a related topic, I miss Sonic! We had it in Nashville, but now that I’m back up here in Vermont I’m deprived. Sonic is awesome, try it if you can and haven’t yet folks.

Every time I see these sketches I can’t help but think off that clip of the WSJ editorial board sitting around and bashing pro-border-enforcement conservatives as irrational. Just something about the tone and tempo of the exchange.

Okay, time for me to weigh in here. (Even though I couldn’t be bothered to watch the video)

Let me give you the

skinny

on fat people.

I don’t know why they are overweight. My gut tells me, they would like to excercise, but have too much on their plates at the moment.

The main thing is, whether they are too be pitied or scorned, nothing makes a bigger target for easy humor than the obese. I don’t like making fun of fat people – but sometimes I can’t resist. The laughs are free and easy, right there for the taking. (Jackie Gleason made a fortune on fat jokes) I think pushing away from that table is harder than passing up a slice of cheescake. I can’t control my moral weakness.

Am I any better than them ?

I would like continue to chew the fat more with you all on this subject, but I’m out of time.

Tough love, my a**. You watch your 10 year old with lousy patriarchal genes we’ve fought for 4 of her 10 years. The first person uses that approach with my granddaughter will face a lawsuit! When are we going to learn to be decent, civil, caring human beings. Is too much to ask? Shaming is cruel and you can check my cart out anytime! Also ask her doctor about all of the blood tests she must endure because very little works when you are up against genetics. You people make my sick. Look to your own souls first. Look to your own morals first. Look at yourselves first before you throw out stupid, hurtful comments. P.S. I have never had a weight problem in my life and I have my owns sins to deal with but I don’t need to bash my beautiful, loving and caring granddaughter to get myself off like lots of you up above.

Amen, Sharin. Nothing quite brings out the twattery in some people than an opportunity to bash fat people.

A few months ago Dennis Prager had a fascinating interview with a thin woman who wrote a book about obesity, its causes, and the historic attempts to fix it, and the bottom line of the author’s research is that nobody knows how to beat it effectively, and most of the conventional wisdom on the matter is either wrong or irrelevant.

Isn’t the overweight thing like smoking. When it affects the rest of us then it’s a problem or does that only count for smoking? Oh well we wouldn’t want to make anyone feel bad huh? You know what I agree, I am not about picking on anyone or making them feel bad, but obese people are beginning to suck up tax dollars just like smokers have been doing for years. Let’s call it what it is. Do we really believe genetics are to blame also? Come on, please. All of the sudden it’s genetics. You know what? I only remember one maybe two overweight kids in any of my classes growing up in school. Now look at any elementary to high school classs and see how many you get. Is this all of the sudden a genetic mutation? No, it’s fast food, lack of recess time, lack of P.E., video games and computers. People lets call a spade a spade. Our society is very sloth like. If I didn’t live the active lifestyle I did I would put on 30 lb’s in a darn week. So lets not talk about genetics. I work hard to be where I am at and not be overweight. That involves eating right and exerciseing, not a bunch of excuses.

My “genetic” problem is a love of real ale, fine wine and hearty food, combined with a genetic predisposition to sitting on my lazy ass. I’d get up and exercise, if it wasn’t for the fact that I can’t be arsed.

Why am I 40lbs overweight? Total mystery. I chow down handfuls of diet pills with my burgers and nothing works. Must be genetic.

Lardasses should pay a shitload more for health insurance…along with smokers…and gays.

When their wallets start slimming down, their blubber will surely follow.

MirCat: Satire:
1. A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.

2. Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.

Comedy is used very often to say in “jest” what we don’t wish to say straight out! Gator70 and Ochian: in your cases you may well be fat because you eat trash but in my granddaughter’s case it is genetics! No one on my side of the maternal tree is FAT, OBSESE….we just happen to be slim, trim and good looking…and gee, we eat whatever we want and we do not GAIN WEIGHT!! She is the first we have had to deal with, ever and we work on it daily. So, unless you have personally dealt with this condition back yourselves up!

I honestly don’t see any difference in the hate speech being written on here regarding obesity, and racism, sexism, classism… Etc.
It’s hate speech, and it should be classified as such. And to verbally assault someone based strictly on their BMI, is in my opinion, a hate crime. It’s no different than verbally assaulting someone based on their religion, their sex, their race, etc.
It’s useless to try to change people, people will always try to find ways to make themselves feel superior, but that doesn’t mean it should be tolerated (or in this case encouraged) and it certainly should not be legal. It’s sad to see how people will stoop to such levels, yet I’ll wager a close look AT THEM would reveal many less apparent, issues. Broken marriages, criminal convictions, drug/alcohol abuse/addiction, promiscuity, etc. But of course, in today’s society, those things are perfectly “normal”, while being overweight is in and of itself, reason to subjugate.

And you’re exactly the kind of abusive person I’m talking about. Why not try the ‘ol sticks and stone routine the next time someone says nappy headed, or stereotypes a Muslim? Better yet, why don’t YOU try it and then let me know how that works out for you.
It’s no different, and you’re still ignorant.